44th Floor High-Rise Dungeon (2)

Actually, deciding to buy clothes was quite an impulsive decision.

I was short on clothes to wear out recently, and if I could ride in Luche’s car, the journey would be easier.

It was the result of an efficient choice – to take care of everything while I was out.

What I didn’t know was the murderous prices at department store clothing shops.

I should have gone to an outlet instead. Even for a plain cotton T-shirt, it cost as much as dozens of packs of ramen.

Even if you eat one pack per meal, it’s easily a week’s worth of food expenses!

The guardian of the department store dungeon.

The presence of the clothing store clerk was also quite uncomfortable.

“I think bright tones would suit you well…”

“R-really?”

“How about this? Would you like to try it on in front of the mirror?”

Certainly, when I put the clothes on my body, it didn’t look bad.

Maybe because my body is small, bright and flowy clothes seem to suit me well.

That’s if I put aside my aversion.

Above all, this is too expensive.

It seems to use less fabric than the clothes I saw earlier, but why is it more expensive?

“Do you have anything else?”

“Oh! Are you looking for something specific?”

“Well… I’d prefer pants. You know, something more plain. Something I can wear anywhere.”

What I want to buy is clothes that I can wear to somewhat formal occasions, or at least give an impression of being neat.

And I needed long pants so I wouldn’t have to wear skirts.

However, it was difficult to explain exactly what kind of clothes I was looking for.

As I was stumbling over my words, a relief pitcher appeared.

“Could you show us some slacks? Since you seem to like achromatic colors, black or navy would be good too.”

“Yes!”

Luche, or rather, Ga-yoon, often helped like this while enjoying her own shopping.

Basically, it felt like she was following me around and rummaging through things.

She could have looked at whatever she wanted to buy, but she didn’t seem to have that intention.

Fortunately, the clothes Ga-yoon picked out were perfect.

Although there was a certain femininity in the lines, they were basically neat and clean-looking pants.

This much, I could wear without much aversion.

The price… it still hurts.

But I had to make a decision.

“I-I’ll take this one!”

“Alright! I’ll help you with the payment.”

At the department store, I bought a few more sets of clothes besides the pants.

I needed clothes to match the new pants, and really, just in case. I might meet Elderin.

What Luche said while choosing was casual suit? Semi-formal suit? Anyway, I think it was something like that.

Thanks to that, a lot of my spare money was destroyed… but this should be enough to prepare for important days.

If I wear them too often, the clothes will wear out, so I should keep them well in the closet.

After swiping my card, the clerk went to wrap my clothes, and Luche was still looking around the store.

She helped a lot when measuring sizes and choosing clothes

Not wanting to disturb her, I took a seat on a nearby chair.

I was scared thinking that when women go shopping together, don’t they try on this and that on each other?

That must have been a fantasy from the media.

Although she looked at me occasionally, she never forced anything.

Will she stop shopping if I get up?

Then I should look at my phone until the shopping is over.

“Customer? We’ve finished wrapping the clothes, but will it take long to get to your home?”

“Um… about an hour by bus? Something like that.”

“We can also deliver to your home if you’d like. We don’t charge extra for shipping, and it usually takes one to two days at most.”

“Okay. Please do that.”

As I nodded, the clerk smiled and walked away.

This worked out well.

I was wondering how I would carry all these clothes up.

Maybe this kind of thoughtful service is why people come to expensive department stores.

Well, next time I’ll just go to an outlet or something.

No matter what, this is too expensive.

While I was browsing the InBl community, Luche was choosing clothes with a clerk.

The corners she was going around had more flowy and girlish clothes than I expected.

Unexpectedly, that seems to be her taste.

I didn’t know because she always wore mature clothes whenever I saw her.

As a fan, I was happy to discover an unknown side of her.

“I’m sorry, Da-eun. Did you wait long?”

“Don’t worry about it. Did you buy everything you wanted?”

“Hmm, for now. I looked at shoes briefly too, but there wasn’t much I liked here.”

For saying that, she seemed to have bought quite a lot.

I guess the shopping of the rich is incomprehensible to the economic sense of ordinary people.

Well, I couldn’t imagine myself shopping while going around with a clerk saying, ‘This one and this one. This too, please.’

“We finished earlier than I thought. Are you not hungry?”

I couldn’t answer readily.

This place is a bit expensive.

I don’t even eat a single roll of kimbap in places like this.

If we went to a restaurant that suits Luche’s taste, wouldn’t my balance go bankrupt?

If a magpie follows a stork…

“Since you kept me company, I’ll treat you to a meal.”

“C-can I eat a lot?”

“Of course.”

*  * *

The 44th floor of the high-rise dungeon, no, the shopping mall, housed a restaurant.

It was a place where you could look down at the city through clear glass walls.

The unfamiliarity of such a clean restaurant lasted only for a moment.

Soon, fear took over.

‘I must look like an idiot right now, what should I do?’

The name ‘Opulence’ in a language I couldn’t even guess.

The murderous prices written on the menu I glimpsed.

I’m not completely ignorant.

I know that in such high-end restaurants, there are certain etiquettes, and if you don’t follow them, you can look extremely rude or ignorant.

The problem was that I really was an ignorant person.

Most of the meat I’ve eaten was pork belly or pork neck.

Even beef, I’ve only eaten it fully cooked on a grill with adults.

Of course, I didn’t know how rare or well-done differed.

Kendo was everything in my life.

I didn’t have time to care about other cultural knowledge.

So, even among other players, I was considered quite ignorant.

“What would you like to have? The pasta here is quite delicious.”

“I’ll have what you recommend.”

“Okay. Shall I order the steak I like for you?”

I could only nod.

While I was frozen stiff, Ga-yoon finished ordering.

My head lowered under her steady gaze.

A brief silence flowed.

Her gentle voice softly broached a topic.

“Did I ever tell you that I used to do horseback riding?”

“Horseback riding? No. This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

“I did it since I was really young. I think I liked it a lot. I even took care of the horses myself, and whenever I had a hard time, I always went to the riding grounds.”

I am a fan of Luche.

So I thought I knew a lot about Ga-yoon.

But it seems that wasn’t the case at all.

“You know I injured my arm, right? It was because of a fall from a horse. Bella… ah, that’s my horse’s name. There was a big accident nearby and I think she got scared. She fell and broke her leg. A precious friend went far away, and my left side was ruined.”

Except for the horseback riding, this was a story I knew.

Years of rehabilitation training. Luche managed to move her feet that had been almost immobile, and then she encountered InBl.

A cripple who couldn’t even hold a shield.

A box streamer who just piled up games in ranked matches every day.

Now, undisputedly recognized by everyone as the best holy knight in the country.

I wanted to follow that success story too.

That’s why I became a fan of Luche.

“I attempted suicide five times. It felt like I had lost everything in the world. Like the world had abandoned me. I just couldn’t bear it anymore.”

“……”

I see.

So Luche had a hard time too.

It seems it wasn’t because I was lacking or weak that I broke down.

That fact was somewhat comforting.

“These days, I’m playing the piano. I’m not very good at it. Actually, I still can’t handle my fingers perfectly.”

“Even now? I thought you had fully recovered.”

“Yes. I can’t move them delicately. But it’s much better now. I believe that someday, Da-eun, you’ll get better little by little like this too.”

I’ve been volunteering at the rehab center for years, but every time I see Da-eun, she looks really desperate.

That’s why I really wanted to cheer her on.

— Luche added.

“If I try hard, can I become like Luche… no, like Ga-yoon?”

“Yes. Of course. If not today, then tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then the day after. People like us are used to this, aren’t we?”

Right. I nodded.

Someday. It doesn’t have to be today, just getting better little by little is enough.

The food we ordered arrived.

Mine was pasta with soft cream, and Luche’s had a garlic aroma.

I’ve seen it somewhere, so I twirled the fork against the spoon.

Fortunately, it wasn’t much different from what Luche was doing.

I took my first bite while listening to her words.

It was delicious. Good enough to be called a gift.

“Oh, by the way. You don’t think this meal is a gift, do you?”

“…Wasn’t it?”

“Don’t be too surprised tomorrow.”

The next day.

A large number of paid-for clothes arrived at my house.

They were the clothes Ga-yoon had been selecting at the shopping mall.